Another lawn tractor mower fail

2000 Views 11 Replies 7 Participants Last post by raylo32, Jun 9, 2020

raylo32

Discussion Starter · Jun 6, 2020

We come here every 2 weeks to mow and maintain and I have yet to get through it without a problem on one of the 2 mowers, an older Craftsman 42". Last time it was a broken drive belt. This time I was tooling along, went to re-engage the blades and the engine stalled. Tried it again, same thing. Tried it again by slowly engaging the blades and the engine didn't stall but the belt started smoking. OK, so I realized that the blades must be jammed.

Back to the barn, pulled the deck and tipped it on its side to see this. A hunk of grass and turf stuck between the tip of one of the blades and the deck, totally jamming up the works. I needed a screwdriver to scrape out enough to get the blades to move enough to clear the rest. It's always something. But at least noting major.

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joecaption

· #2 · Jun 6, 2020

If you own equipment stuffs going to break at some point.
Just be glad it was such a simple fix.

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660catman

· #3 · Jun 6, 2020

I hope you don’t really think that’s a lawn tractor mower fail?
In the 35 years I’ve had lawn tractors that has never happened to me. From 86-2001 I had a Ford YT16-H then bought my Sabre in 2001. It’s still going strong on my 2 acres. I also have a New Holland TZ22D I bought in 2007.

Retired guy from Southern Manitoba, Canada.

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jun 6, 2020 (Edited)

Agree, not really a fail... I am just getting a late education on mowers. Having detested the task as a youth I lived in a townhouse for many years that had lawn service done by the association so I skipped the whole thing until recently. Not to worry, I have done a lot of wrenching on cars, motorcycles, HVAC, etc. So it has been a pretty easy learning curve. But it'd be really nice to get through a weekend of mowing uninterrupted. Maybe next time.

But overall I am impressed how tough these things are. They get used hard here and for many hours... and mostly just keep chugging along needing only the occasional belt or blade and an annual oil change.

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DexterII

· #5 · Jun 6, 2020

As Joe said, things are going to break, malfunction, or whatever, regardless of what you do to maintain and/or prepare. That particular problem can generally be avoided though by simply finishing out your last row and moving onto an already mowed section where there are no clumps before disengaging the blade(s). Obviously the mower was keeping up as you finished or you presumably would have realized a problem, but that was at full throttle. Shut it off though, and it takes a lot more energy to overcome any restriction when you restart it.

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SeniorSitizen

· #6 · Jun 6, 2020

Knowing the mower's limits and in this instance about 1/2 to 2/3 swath would be advantageous. Some will say, well hell, if i did that i'd never get done. Well hell again, how much time did you spend correcting the situation and you're fortunate something didn't smoke. Here's another tip for mowing a prairie rather than a well manicured lawn, put some Hi-Lift blades on it and raise the discharge deflector if applicable.

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BigJim

· #7 · Jun 6, 2020

I never thought I would say this, but I now days enjoy cutting our yard.

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jun 6, 2020

I hate to admit it but I almost like it now, too. Get a little zen thing going... pop on the noise cancelling headphones and just cruise. We have also have some berms and things to keep it interesting. But getting interrupted with mower problems kills the vibe.

BigJim said:
I never thought I would say this, but I now days enjoy cutting our yard.

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BigJim

· #9 · Jun 6, 2020

raylo32 said:
I hate to admit it but I almost like it now, too. Get a little zen thing going... pop on the noise cancelling headphones and just cruise. We have also have some berms and things to keep it interesting. But getting interrupted with mower problems kills the vibe.

I can see where it would Ray, that is the way it was with our old mower. It seems like it would break down or something fall off it every time I went to mow.

Even with our new to us mower, I bought a new battery last year for it, 6 months later and it was dead as a door nail, no good at all. Walmart said they only warrant the mower batteries 3 months. They won't get a chance to sell me another one of any kind. But I still enjoy cutting the grass.

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SeniorSitizen

· #10 · Jun 6, 2020

Dad bought a new reel push mower for me when i was a kid and i could never, i mean never get that thing to break down.:vs_mad:

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lenaitch

· #11 · Jun 6, 2020

BigJim said:
I can see where it would Ray, that is the way it was with our old mower. It seems like it would break down or something fall off it every time I went to mow.

Even with our new to us mower, I bought a new battery last year for it, 6 months later and it was dead as a door nail, no good at all. Walmart said they only warrant the mower batteries 3 months. They won't get a chance to sell me another one of any kind. But I still enjoy cutting the grass.

Small batteries can be crap shoot at the best of times. Walmart (up here anyway) gets their batteries from a number of suppliersbut I've had really bad luck with Interstate, both on the LT and my motorcycle. I think the warrantees on all small batteries (utility, m/c) is shorter regardless of manufacturer. I started leaving my on a tender a few years ago, as opposed to just charging it in the spring and I think I'm on year 4 or 5. Woot woot.

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raylo32

Discussion Starter · #12 · Jun 9, 2020

That's funny. Back in the 1980s I had a rental townhouse that had a back yard I had to mow. It was only about 20'x40' or so, but was very lush. I was cheap
back then so got a Husqvarna reel mower thinking it would be perfect. The first spring disabused me of that thought. Around here in spring you can almost hear the grass grow and if you don't get it at least once a week you are in deep trouble. What with work, other activities and rain outs it was often not possible to get it until it was too late and just impossible to cut with the reel mower. I ended up giving it away to a friend with another townhouse and a much thinner lawn.

SeniorSitizen said:
Dad bought a new reel push mower for me when i was a kid and i could never, i mean never get that thing to break down.:vs_mad:

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Another lawn tractor mower fail

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